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Tanya Orellana

She // Her // Hers

Scenic Designer

New York, New York

A Latina woman with brown hair and black glasses looking into the camera.

Photo by Jessenia Nguyen.

Scenic design is the medium through which I engage with the world to question assumptions and co-create new realities.”

Tanya Orellana designs performance spaces for theatre, opera, and immersive installations. Orellana’s work has been seen in venues across the US, including The Huntington, The Guthrie, Pasadena Playhouse, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The Kennedy Center, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Huntington Gardens, The Geffen Playhouse, The Getty Villa, and Berkeley Rep. Design collaborations include Big Data directed by Pam MacKinnon (A.C.T.), Mother Road directed by David Mendizábal (Berkeley REP), What Became of Us directed by Jennifer Chang (Atlantic Stage 2), For The People by Larissa FastHorse and Ty Defoe directed by Michael John Garcés (Guthrie Theatre), Oedipus directed by Jenny Koons (The Getty Villa); Lear directed by Eric Ting (CalShakes), The Travelers by Luis Alfaro directed by Catherine Castellanos (Magic Theatre), Sweet Land, a world premiere opera directed by Yuval Sharon and Cannupa Hanska Luger at L.A. State Historic Park, the Mexico premiere of Angels in America directed by Martín Acosta at Teatro Juan Ruiz de Alarcón (Mexico City), and Rasgos Asiáticos, written by Virginia Grise, a scenic installation using sound, light, and objects to conjure narratives of immigration and migration in the US-Mexico borderlands. She is a core member of the award winning ensemble Campo Santo, a member of Wingspace Design, and an organizing member of La Gente: The Latiné Theatre Production Network. Orellana received her MFA in Scenic Design from CalArts and is a recipient of the Princess Grace Fabergé Theatre Award.

Donor -This award was generously supported by donors of the USA Fellowship Awards program.

This artist page was last updated on: 01.14.2026

A futuristic curved structure with led lighting, living room furniture and three actors walking briskly.

Big Data set design by Tanya Orellana. Written by Kate Atwell, directed by Pam Mackinnon, costumes by Lydia Tanji, lighting by Russell H. Champa, sound by Madeleine Oldham, projections by Kaitlyn Pietras and Jason H.Thompson. American Conservatory Theatre.

Photo by Kevin Berne.

Large rug with green shag and woven daisies hanging from the ceiling that curves and extends into the floor, large daisy pillows and fabric grasses. An actress stands in a black suit.

As You Like It set design by Tanya Orellana. Directed by Lisa Peterson. Costumes by An-lin Dauber, lighting by Tom Ontiveros, music direction and sound design by Paul James Predergast, props by Andrew Carney. OregonShakes.

Photo by Jenny Graham.

A large brick wall with multiple colorful neon signs, a 70s-inspired living room in the center and a tile patterned floor.

American Mariachi set by Tanya Orellana. Written by Jose Cruz González, directed by KJ Sanchez, costumes by Christopher Vergara, lighting by Carolina Ortiz Herrera, sound by Lindsay Jones. The Alley Theatre.